Active Folks stay out of Nursing Homes in Monroe County, PA

Active People in Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg, PA Avoid Nursing Homes in Old Age

“I don’t want to go to a Nursing Home.” How often have you heard that from an elderly – or young loved one or close friend? Well, keeping active will help you and those you care about stay independent well into old age and avoid the horrors of nursing homes.

Aside from a substantially heightened Quality of Life, individuals who are physically active are able to maintain independence longer as they age. It is seen that being physically inactive increases incidence of nursing home admission by 40%. In addition, a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, contributes to the elimination of risks associated with diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, which also add to increased medical costs and loss of independence by older adults.

In May of 2008, a study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, which followed 6,500 individuals for 20 Years. When the study began, more than half of the participants were ages 45 – 64, and it found that those individuals categorized as obese, physically inactive, smokers, diabetics, and hypertensive were much more likely to be admitted to a nursing home.

Healthy lifestyle changes can prevent and reverse many of these medical conditions, and overall, being physically active, positively contributes to an individual’s physical and mental well-being. Whether you play sports such as tennis, racquetball or basketball, or engage in regular cardiovascular and weight bearing exercises, you are doing yourself good – keep it up.